Top 10 Tips for Working with the Media at IMTS 2016

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IMTS provides exhibitors with a great opportunity to meet with many editors during the six-day long show. Make the most of that time by zeroing in on ways to maximize your media exposure and increase your PR success. Follow these “top 10” guidelines for working with the media at IMTS 2016.

Ensure editors get your press kit by uploading it to the IMTS Online Media Center in the e-Kit. Remember: no physical press kits will be allowed in the Media Center, so please upload it! During the show, Media Center staff will download materials for the media and either print them or save them to a memory stick.

If you plan to provide your press kit on flash drives for editors and are making them available at the booth, please leave them at your booth’s main reception area/desk. Editors will be busy and don’t have time to look for you, particularly if you have a large booth or you need to step away — and of course you will. The Media Center will maintain a list of exhibitors who have press kits available in their booths. Beginning August 8, a new feature in the e-Kit under "Press Kit" will allow you to tell us if you're going to have a media kit in your booth.

Focus on the facts in your press releases. Talk about specific advancements, new machines or new technologies without overblowing them with unsubstantiated claims. News releases go through media filters, so make them filterable by sticking to the facts. Need assistance with creating a press release? Use the “My Press Release Writer” in the e-Kit. Search for Press Kit or go to My Press Release Writer.

Keep press releases germane to the editor’s audience. Make sure the release indicates the industry or industries for which your product is suited.

Include high-resolution electronic images to help increase media coverage. For print media, photos should be 300 DPI at the size for which it would appear.

Call special attention to a product that it is being unveiled at the show, has never-before been distributed or covers a highly newsworthy announcement. Use a cover letter, note, email or somehow direct an editor’s attention to one or two specific releases and explain why these are the releases most relevant for their readers.

Given the time constraints at IMTS — the maximum length for a meeting or press conference should be 15 to no more than 30 minutes — consider it an IMTS PR victory if you just gain an editor’s attention.

Consider a press conference for unveiling and talking about a new technology that a number of different magazines or audiences would be interested in.

Schedule one-on-one meetings to allow editors the opportunity for a focused conversation about things they don’t know. Editors want to speak with experts, so make sure they’re available.

Review your media list to ensure you know the editors. Personalize editor contact in some way so that the editor knows you’re addressing them as an individual. You can find editor names in the IMTS Key Publications list.

Adhere to these guidelines, and you’ll enjoy a mutually productive relationship with the media at IMTS 2016.